Tales From the Buccaneer
by CO Cheddar
Summary: Rayman and Globox were not the only prisoners on the Buccaneer. This is the story of the everyone on the Buccaneer, both Pirate and Slave, during the course of Rayman 2.
1. Prologue

Prologue

No one knows from whence they came or how they came into being. All that is known about the Robo Pirates is that their unquenchable greed led them out of their homeworld on an odyssey of plunder throughout the galaxy. In the early days of their raids they were mildly successful in their goals and were only seen as a mild threat to the peace of the worlds they assaulted. This all changed once Admiral Razorbeard came into power.

Razorbeard's origins were humble; as a youth he was merely a deckhand on the _Claudia_. Always mocked for his diminutive stature, Razorbeard developed ferocity and cunning to make up for his weakness. He began to gain prominence among the pirates and eventually, when his captain disappeared under mysterious circumstances, became Captain of the _Claudia_. His hunger for power did not end there: in four years he had united the rag-tag Pirate crews into a fleet through force and secret diplomacy.

Wasting no time to declare himself Admiral of the Robo Pirate fleet, Razorbeard led savage, coordinated attacks throughout the galaxy. His power grew rapidly as wealth flowed to his homeworld every day and prisoners were shipped as slaves to toil for their robotic masters. The _Claudia_, renamed the _Buccaneer_ by its new master, was the largest of these slave ships, bringing a grim cargo back to the Pirates' planet after a successful series of raids.

During one of his conquests, Razorbeard attacked a small, remote planet with his fleet. He expected it to go the same way as his other conquests; it didn't. A hero named Rayman escaped from the _Buccaneer_, united the four legendary Masks of Polokus and drove the Pirates out of his world. This is not his story. Instead, this is the story of the _Buccaneer _and her inhabitants, both pirate and slave, observing history during Rayman's adventure…


	2. Chapter 1: The Escape

Chapter 1

It was another day on the Buccaneer. Ragged prisoners awoke from their dreams as their mechanical captors roamed the halls. In one small cell, the morning was felt the same way as in all the others; miserably. This cell was home to four captives: two Teensies, one young, the other old, a small, blue amphibious creature and a strangely reptilian creature with rocklike skin.

"Wake up, you mangy dogs! It's almost time for you to work, so eat up and be ready to move!"

A Pirate close to the cell slid a bowl half filled with gray, watery gruel under the door. One of the inhabitants, an elderly Teensie, picked up the bowl and moved it over to the others.

"Come on, eat. You need the energy more than I do, you know." He said with a weary smile. A younger Teensie moved over to the gruel and looked at it before turning away with a queasy look on his face.

"Come on, son. I know it looks terrible, but you need to eat. It's not so bad once you're used to it."

The young Teensie, still hesitant, dipped his right hand into the gruel and placed it to his lips slowly. The other creatures in the cell were less eager to try the gruel, although not because of hesitation. The small amphibian sat in a corner of the room sobbing.

"I miss daddy…" He sniffed. "Where are mommy and daddy?"

"I know how you feel, Gublub," The old Teensie said gently. "but you need to keep up your strength as well. What would your parents think if you didn't take care of yourself?"

The baby Globox sniffed as it thought about these words before it rose to join the young Teensie. Satisfied, the old Teensie slowly moved to where the reptilian was sitting.

"Poor kids." He said sadly. "Look how scared they are. It's terrible that the Pirates are capturing kids as young as these.

"Yeah." The reptilian said quietly.

"You know, we've been cell mates for about a month now and you haven't told me your name yet."

"Marco." He replied. "What about you?"

"Me? My name's Sam. I used to raise my grandchildren down by the Fairy Glade until… well, they caught me. I don't know where they are now. It's so sad to be separated from them…"

Before Marco could reply to him, a shrill voice began to boom through the corridor. 

"What?!? What do you mean, 'They escaped'?"

"Um… exactly what I said, sir." Another, more timid voice replied. "I think they broke through the grate in their cell and escaped through a vent."

"But nobody has ever escaped from the _Buccaneer_ before! How did he manage to break through the grate, anyway?"

"I'm sorry, I don't know! One minute they were there and we started to play cards, and the next minute…"

"Well, that settles it. You're telling Admiral Razorbeard that Rayman and that frog thing escaped."

"But… But I can't!" The voice sobbed hysterically. "You know what he'll do to me! You're his first mate! You tell him!"

"How dare you talk back to a superior officer! You were on guard duty, you let them escape, and now you're going to tell the news to the Admiral."

All four of the prisoners turned their heads as the conversation went on. As they watched, two pirates came walking down the corridor. One of them was dressed in blue while the other, noticeably distressed, was wearing the normal red uniform of a Pirate commando. The Pirate in blue, seeing hundreds of prisoners staring at him, decided to exert his authority.

"Mind your own business, slaves!" He barked at no one in particular. "Because you can't mind your own business, everyone gets half rations for a day!"

The prisoners turned away, but even the thought of half rations was not enough to dampen their newfound spirits. Urgent, whispered conversations sprouted in every cell as the Pirates went by.

"Rayman… escaped!" The old man whispered, his eyes moistening with tears. "There's hope for us after all! With Rayman fighting for us, we're as good as rescued!"

"Uncle Rayman and daddy are gonna beat up the bad guys and save us!" Gublub said excitedly. "Just you wait."

"Hrmph. What foolishness!" Marco cut into the conversation. "I don't know about you, but we tried to fight as our world was overrun. The ones who weren't killed were taken as slaves. You really think that this Rayman can save us from those fiends?"

"Yes, I do." Sam said resolutely. "When I was young, the world was attacked by a man named Dark. He led an army as mighty as this one, but Rayman was able to defeat him. He saved us once, and I believe he can save us again."

The young Teensie listened to these words, a wistful look on his face. "Freedom…" he whispered to himself.

"That's the spirit!" Sam said, trying to boost the boy's confidence after hearing his first words. "I don't care how hard the road will be for us, we will be freed!"

Before they could converse more, a Pirate came up to their room and deactivated the laser gate in front of the cell.

"Get up, you louts! Get on over to the boiler room and start shoveling coal!"

Weary but oddly joyful, the four cellmates got up slowly and followed the Pirate into the boiler room, the thought of freedom never leaving their minds. Even Marco entertained the possibility. It was still foolishness, of course, but what if…

"No, no." He thought. "I'll go mad if I think of that." Shrugging his shoulders, he joined the others, still unconsciously hoping that Sam were telling the truth.


	3. Chapter 2: The Admiral's Cabin

Chapter 2:

"Come on in, sir. The Admiral's waiting."

The Pirates who said this grinned as they opened the door. Normally the First Mate would have punished them for their impudence, but his fear of Razorbeard turned him into a spineless wimp. It was easy for him to bully his subordinates; after all, he outranked them. The Admiral, on the other hand, terrified him. Even worse, Razorbeard knew it and took joy in tormenting his First Mate.

"Well, come in, will you?" Razorbeard's voice boomed from his cabin. "I don't have all day, you know."

The First Mate shivered as he walked into the cabin. Razorbeard's cabin was large and spacious; it was also not a very ornate room, as the only objects in it were the Admiral's chair and desk, a window in the back of the room, a few navigational charts on his desk and a variety of weapons from several worlds framed on the walls. He also noticed a singed Pirate uniform lying on the ground, adding to his discomfort.

"Let's not dilly dally, First Mate." Razorbeard said as soon as the Pirate entered the room. "I have a question for you; where is he?"

"Um… what do you mean, sir?" He asked.

"Don't be a fool, lackey." The Admiral hissed. "You are in contact with my commandos. Where is Rayman?"

"We think he's somewhere in the Fairy Glade at the moment, sir." The lackey replied.

"Hrmph. Trying to free Ly, I suppose." Razorbeard said. He slowly swiveled towards the window in his room as he addressed his First Mate again. "Tell me, have you heard of the Masks of Polokus?"

"Masks of Polokus?" The Pirate asked, scratching his metallic head. "No sir, I can't say I have."

"They're a fascinating study, really. A few of the prisoners told me about them after a little… interrogation. I still don't know much about them myself, but all I know is that they are objects of immense power, especially if all four are united. Rayman will most certainly be looking for them, and if he finds them everything we've worked so hard to achieve will be undone."

"I think I understand, sir." The First Mate said. "You want me to find these Masks before Rayman does, right?"

"Very astute." Razorbeard said, turning towards the Pirate once more. "As my First Mate, it is your job to find the Masks and bring them to me. You are dismissed."

The First Mate saluted and turned to walk away, but didn't get too much farther before Razorbeard interrupted his departure.

"Oh, and one more thing. If Rayman gets the masks before I do… well, you know the price of incompetence around here." Razorbeard smiled. The First Mate knew he wasn't joking.

As the First Mate walked out of the Admiral's cabin, the Pirates snickered as they closed the doors for him.

"How was the Admiral today, sir?" One of the asked mockingly.

"Mocking a superior officer, eh?" The First Mate blustered, his stamina returned to him. "I bet you'll love this, then! You two have furnace cleaning duties for a week!"

The First Mate gave a smug grin as he heard the Pirates groan behind him. Few things made him feel better than exerting his authority over the Pirates. Feeling better, he hurried quickly to one of the ship's garrisons to brief his men and get them ready to start hunting the Masks. He hoped for his sake that they would be successful.

The initial excitement following Rayman's escape faded as the days went by. Things were the same as they always had been on the _Buccaneer_: the imprisonment in cramped cells, the harsh labor and the lack of vittles ground whatever hopes most prisoners held into bitter acceptance of their situations.

Sam had begun to feel that way too, much to his displeasure. He had known it would take Rayman a while to free him, but the days seemed to be longer and longer and the feeling that he was being a fool had slowly grown over time. As much as he was trying to keep himself happy, despair was slowly beginning to overtake him too.

Still, Sam knew he had to strive harder for the sake of his cellmates. The young Teensie in particular worried him; Sam had no idea what his name was, much less any idea about the boy himself. From what he could tell, this boy was one of a large group of kids taken from their homes by the Pirate invasion; he was frightened of his unfamiliar surroundings and just as afraid to confide in and seek support from his cellmates.

Except for one. Gublub was eager to make friends with a kid around his age, and the two had gotten alone well. Since then, they could be seen playing in the cell at all hours; while it was a bit distracting, Sam was glad to see the young Teensie find a friend. Even Marco seemed glad that the kids were doing well.

The kids were currently sitting on the floor, listening to Marco tell stories about his homeworld. Gublub liked listening to his elders tell stories, and Marco had taken a liking to the cheeky babe. As for the young Teensie, he seemed to be enthralled by the man's stories as well; what he thought of them, Sam could only guess.

"You wouldn't know much about deserts where you were from, most likely." Marco told the boys. "I, on the other hand, have known them from the

days of my youth. You see, my planet is full of deserts and sand, stretching as far as the eye can see, although mighty rivers cut through the land. Where I used to live, there were palms everywhere and fruits bigger than you are."

"Wow!" Gublub said excitedly. His friend could only stare in amazement.

"Oh yes." Marco grinned. "And that's not all. In the summers everything gets very hot except for the rivers. Every day we would gather enough food and water for us to live on for a while longer, and every night, when the sun went down, we would dive into the water and let our cares be washed away."

"I wouldn't mind swimming in one of those rivers myself." Sam said wearily. "These old bones have taken in a lot of worries that need to be washed away."

"I hear you." Marco said, smiling thinly. "If I ever ret… no, nevermind. I'm going to go to sleep now."

"Aww man!" Gublub pouted. "I want more stories!"

"I know, but I'm a little tired right now." Marco said, quickly changing the subject. "You kids should go to bed too."

"Okay." Gublub said sadly. "Night Mister Marco! Night Grandpa!"

Sam smiled. Gublub had started to call him Grandpa a few days ago and he quite enjoyed it. "Good night, kids."

At that, the baby Globox and his friend plopped down on the ground and huddled up to each other. The old man decided to follow their example and lay down himself.

"Mmm… what a life." He mumbled. "If I ever return to my home, I hope I can spend more time with my own family. That would be nice…" At that, he drifted off into sleep.


	4. Chapter 3: The Boiler Room

Chapter 3: The Boiler Room

The heat was stifling in the boiler room of the _Buccaneer_. Armed Pirate guards watched as throngs of slaves marched towards the boiler, dropping their loads of coal into the blazing furnace before returning to the coal piles to get more. Barrels of water stood next to the Pirates, who used them to goad their slaves to work harder.

"Come on, you spineless worms!" A Pirate roared. "If you want water, you're going to work for it!"

The heat slowly took its toll on the slaves who trudged assembly line style through the boiler room. The emaciated slaves were exhausted from their work, and many had passed out only to be roused by a bitterly cold splash of water from their captors.

Sam found himself withstanding the heat better than most; as old as he was, he was reasonably healthy and could carry moderately sized loads without tiring. Marco was pulling his weight in the boiler room as well, carrying larger loads than most despite the obvious strain of his toil. Even Gublub and the Teensie boy were helping a little.

"C'mon, let's keep it up!" Gulbub told his friend as they tossed a small lump of coal into the boiler. "These grown ups can't do it without us!" Many of the prisoners couldn't help smiling as they went off to get another lump of coal.

While the prisoners were working, one of them began to cough violently, causing him to drop his coal. This created a cloud of dust that made him cough even harder. One of the Pirates, seeing this, strode over to the man.

"What do you think you're doing?" The Pirate asked, pushing the slave none too gently. "Pick up that coal this instant, you slacker!"

"I can't." The slave said hoarsely. "This coal dust is too thick. I need fresh air."  
"Oh, you want fresh air?" The Pirate ridiculed. "If you don't get back to work this

instant, you'll have something worse than coal dust to worry about!"

"Don't worry, I'll carry your load." Both Pirate and slave turned as Marco walked up, a fresh load in hand. "You take a break for now."

"What do you think you're doing?" The Pirate yelled at Marco. "Every slave has to work! If one of them takes a break, the others become lazy!"

"What are you talking about?" Marco asked against his better judgement. "This man is allergic to coal dust and could die if he has to carry much more coal, and you're asking him to work harder?"

"Watch who you're talking to, dog!" The Pirate bellowed, punching Marco in the gut. "I will not be talked to in that manner by a spineless slave!"

The reptilian doubled over with pain from the force of the blow. Suddenly, he sprung to his feet and instinctively punched the Pirate in the face. Before he could move, Marco found his face in the dirt as the Pirates rushed him all at once.

"Well, looks like we've got a feisty one here." The Pirate said roughly, rubbing his jaw. "Course, we don't like slaves like you around here. What should we do with this one, boys? Skin him? Hang him? A firing squad, maybe?" The Pirates jeered at these statements as Marco gasped for air.

"No, he's a strong one." The Pirate mused, grinning cruelly at Marco. "He does a lot of work, and we need people like him here. I know what we're gonna do. You!" He yelled at four of the Pirates. "Bring this one to Solitary Confinement. Maybe that'll teach him some respect."

At that, the Pirates dragged Marco's bloody form through the door as the slaves watched dejectedly.

"That's enough for today." One of the Pirates still in the room said gruffly. "Move quickly, now!" The slaves slowly followed his orders, trudging wearily along the corridors of the _Buccaneer_ as the footsteps of the Pirates carrying Marco grew silent.

The first night without Marco was a hard one. The kids stared quietly at Sam, all of them afraid to say the first word. Gublub was the first one to break the silence.

"Grandpa," He asked hesitantly, "is Mister Marco gonna be okay?"

"Don't worry, Marco will be fine." Sam said. He knew that he was lying; anything could happen to Marco in Solitary Confinement. Still, he knew that he would have to comfort the kids. They had all grown attached to Marco and he didn't know how badly they would take the news.

"Where is he now?" Gublub asked again, this time a little louder.

"Oh, he's in another part of the ship now." Sam replied.

"Is he gonna come back anytime soon?" Gublub asked, eagerly this time.

"I… I think so." Sam said hesitantly.

"Well, when's he gonna be back?" Gublub asked once more.

"Bless your heart, Gublub, I can't stay upset when you're like this." Sam said, managing a week laugh. "I don't know when he'll be back; the only thing we can do is wait."

"… Why?" The young Teensie asked quietly after Gublub had finished his questions. Both the old Teensie and baby Globox were momentarily startled by the boy's speech before Sam finally answered him.

"What do you mean, child?" Sam asked him.

"Why did Mister Marco do that?" The Teensie asked quietly.

"Well… I want to say that I would have done the same thing in Marco's position, but… he's a much braver man than I." Sam said sadly.

"But why?" The Teensie asked again.

"You boys are a bit too young. When you're older, you'll understand. For now…"  
"Bedtime?" Gublub said meekly.

"Mmm hmm." Sam replied. "We all need to sleep if we want to get through this."

"Okay." Gublub said. "Night, Grandpa." The boys gave the old man a hug before trudging over to their corner to sleep.

"Oh, Marco… why did you do that and leave us all alone?" Sam asked as he lay down. "No, I'm not angry at you and I know why you did it. I just wish that you were still here. Oh well… I'll keep the kids safe, Marco, don't worry. I'll do anything for them…" He yawned once before closing his eyes and falling into a deep sleep.


End file.
